Pare Hauraki tribes and NZME staff have met to discuss the correct pronunciation of station name Radio Hauraki. Iwi spokesperson Korohere Ngāpō says the meeting was an opportunity to share the tribe's history, explain the group's cultural ties to the Hauraki name and why correct pronunciation was important.
While the ad says it's different, the sting of incorrect pronunciation remains, but this could change come December.
Pare Hauraki spokesman Korohere Ngāpō says "Dean Buchanan told me that in the next few months they will be looking to re-record the Hauraki pronunciation. So if things go as planned come December it could well be pronounced correctly."
Pare Hauraki met with NZME staff yesterday to discuss avenues for correct pronunciation of station name Radio Hauraki. In July a former employee publicly accused management of directing staff to intentionally miss-pronounce the name for brand purposes. NZME management disputed these accusations.
"We shared our history with them and they had time to listen and ask questions," Ngāpō says.
"I saw their genuine desire to get it right and they told me they wanted to pronounce Hauraki correctly."
NZME Group director Dean Buchancan could not appear on camera today but says NZME were still working through the plans for this with the relevant parties and he doesn't have anything more to add.
Ngāpō says "they [NZME staff] now know if they pronounce Hauraki incorrectly the hurt it causes to the Hauraki tribes, so for me, that's a big achievement.
"It's definitely a step forward."
A set date for a pronunciation workshop was still to be decided, but for now, the focus is developing a strategy moving forward. Ngāpō says no doubt the groups will meet again before the end of the year, and if NZME need help the iwi are happy to accommodate.